The present invention relates to the field of providing data and services during an emergency response. More particularly, the present invention, in various specific embodiments, involves methods, systems, apparatus, and/or data formats directed to providing reliable and extensible emergency response data services using an open source architecture.
Recently, there has been considerable interest in providing additional enhanced data to various individuals that may be involved in a response to a request for emergency assistance. Such services generally are sometimes referred to as enhanced 911 services (e911). A number of United States patents have been issued discussing various aspects regarding enhanced 911 services. These patents include:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,670 Private Notification System For Communicating 9-1-1-Information (Pons);
U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,278 Integrated Data Collection And Transmission For 9-1-1-Calls For Service (Pickett);
U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,974 Personal Security System (Simms);
U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,129 System for Exchanging Health Care Insurance Information (Spurgeon);
U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,417 Method For Acquiring And Presenting Data Relevant To An Emergency Incident (Orr);
U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,760 Routing of Special Emergency Calls (Russ);
U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,060 Computerized Medical Diagnostic and Treatment Advice System Including List Base Processing (Iliff);
U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,126 Emergency Alert And Security Apparatus And Method (Carrier);
U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,569 Line-Based Public Safety Answering Point (Brozovich).
Pons discusses a private notification system for notifying others when an emergency call is occurring. An example given is notifying parents who may be away from home when a 911 call is made from their home. In relation to one embodiment, an emergency care information database is discussed as providing emergency care information supplied by a subscriber to a user. The emergency care information database is briefly described as accessible by a control center (the CCC) through the emergency care database access point and includes a medical history, insurance, police, and fire emergency information provided by the subscriber.
Simms discusses a personal security system wherein a mobile unit communicates emergency data to a central dispatch unit. The mobile security unity communicates position information as well as personal information to a central dispatch operator.
Spurgeon discusses a system for exchanging health care insurance information between a variety of computerized databases using an information-exchange computer and data translations into an exchange database. A discussed system integrates computers that use mutually incompatible databases with an information-exchange system that can be visualized as a hub-and-spoke system, with the information exchange computer forming the hub. A discussed advantage is the increased speed with which claims are processed and paid and with which a subscriber may learn if a requested treatment will be paid for by the insurer. The system is described as a high-speed, computerized system as a continuous conduit for all aspects of payment authorization requests.
Russ discusses detecting a 911 call and retrieving additional data from a database and forwarding that data to a PSAP.
Orr discusses providing a variety of emergency response relevant data over the course of an emergency to a command center, including real-time information. Discussed data sources include land based, air-based, or space-based detection units, such as satellites or helicopters.
Pickett discusses an integrated data delivery service for 911 calls that uses a caller-id to automatically interrogates one or more databases to provide additional information to a responder. The discussed method integrates data as it is returned by one or more automatically interrogated databases and then transmits the data file a leased or dial up telephone line to a radio common carrier for broadcast to an end user. According to the description results from the various databases are merged before being transmitted to the responder. As shown in FIG. 2 of Pickett, all of the databases reside in a single computer or computer system 150.
These patents are incorporated by reference for the purposes of understanding background concepts related to the art.
While many different functions, features and techniques have been proposed associated with providing fast response data service, these features by and large have been directed to a single definitive source data system that must be continually updated with current data relevant to a fast response service. What these systems have failed to address, for the most part, is the fact that there is a tradeoff to be made between a tightly controlled, highly verified central data system and having access during an emergency response to the most relevant and most up-to-date data which may be in fact resident in a number of data sources.
For example, emergency medical personnel responding to an employee having a medical emergency in an office building, generally will want fast access to current medical and contact information regarding that employee. The most definitive and up to date version of that information is likely to be that resident in an employer human resources database. Data at a central data source, even if updated periodically, can have non-current data when accessed during the emergency response. Also, in many instances, it may be impractical to continually update data from a number of employee databases to a central data source.
As a further example, in some instances, data relevant to an emergency response may not be available prior to occurrence of the incident. For example, an insurance company may be set up to receive information about an emergency, such as a fire, occurring at the home of a policyholder. The insurance company may assign a representative to the incident as the incident is occurring based on the region in which the incident is located, the time of day, or various representative work loads. This assignment of an insurance company authorized representative may be highly relevant to resolving the incident, but the data is not available from the insurance company until the incident occurs. Thus, emergency response data systems that rely on preloaded databases cannot accommodate this type of changing data.
As a further example, in some instances, data relevant to an emergency response may be of such quality or quantity that it is not practical or desirable to collect and store it at a central location. An industrial site, for example, may wish to provide plant layout or industrial process information or information from real-time sensors or cameras. Furthermore, different installations may have very different format or configured data. Some locations may have just very basic data and other locations may have cameras or VRML formatted data. Emergency response data systems that rely on preloaded databases cannot easily accommodate this type of data.
What is needed is a method and/or apparatus for providing enhanced emergency response data reliably and in a decentralized manner.
The present invention in various aspects may be embodied as a method or a system or an apparatus for providing an improved extended 911 or similar fast response data services. The invention provides an open data protocol method for making data from a variety of sources available during an emergency response. In a further aspect, the invention provides a method for collecting data from a variety of sources into a log for an emergency response, to assist a concerned individual in learning what is happening during an emergency response or to assist in follow-up to the emergency response.
The invention and various specific aspects and embodiments will be better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed descriptions. In some of the drawings and detailed descriptions below, the present invention is described in terms of the important independent embodiment of an emergency response system. This should not be taken to limit the invention, which, using the teachings provided herein, can be applied to other situations. For purposes of clarity, this discussion refers to devices, methods, and concepts in terms of specific examples. However, the invention and aspects thereof may have applications to a variety of types of devices and systems. It is therefore intended that the invention not be limited except as provided in the attached claims.
Furthermore, it is well known in the art that logic or digital systems and methods can include a wide variety of different components and different functions in a modular fashion. Different embodiments of the invention can include different mixtures of elements and functions and may group various functions as parts of various elements. For purposes of clarity, the invention is described in terms of systems that include many different innovative components and innovative combinations of innovative components and known components. No inference should be taken to limit the invention to combinations containing all of the innovative components listed in any illustrative embodiment in this specification.
The functional aspects of the invention, as will be understood from the teachings herein, may be implemented or accomplished using any appropriate implementation environment or programming language, such as C++, Cobol, Pascal, Java, Java-script, HTML, dHTML, XML, etc.
All publications, patents, and patent applications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.